


Catch a Falling Heart

by Iavenza



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Action, Canon Continuation, Canon-Typical Violence, Dimension Travel, Edgebikki, F/F, Ships aren't main focus but they will be mentioned/shown quite frequently, XDU adaptation sort of, assumes that Gears were destroyed in the XV finale, but nobody in main universe, some AU deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26441509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iavenza/pseuds/Iavenza
Summary: A few months after the Yggdrasil Incident, the Gears users lead generally normal lives. That is, until, a strangely familiar intruder arrives at S.O.N.G, bringing a dimension-travelling Relic called the Gjallarhorn with them. As the Gears go to investigate, a short pledge of assistance becomes a pledge to save a lost world.
Relationships: Akatsuki Kirika/Tsukuyomi Shirabe, Kohinata Miku/Tachibana Hibiki, Maria Cadenzavna Eve/Kazanari Tsubasa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Catch a Falling Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my far from my first fanfic, but it's the first I'll be publishing here, so I apologise if there are any formatting errors.
> 
> The structure of this is kind of episodic(?), as in each Chapter will cover a different arc, and the first one serves more as a prologue to events. That's why this one is so short - the next ones will be longer!
> 
> Just as a warning, there's some death of AU characters discussed through this, although I didn't tag Major Character Death because for now it's only mentioned and it's nobody from the main timeline.
> 
> Please enjoy!!

The fall was immediate. Hard concrete rushing up to her, catching her feet, echoing her rapid steps. No time to think. No time to stop. Don't turn around.

Hibiki Tachibana turned around.

The Noise weren't there. Had it worked? No time to know. Can’t stop running.

She was a mess. Her orange hair was torn, and lodged itself in her eyes in the worst ways, and her clothes were just as bad. Her blue S.O.N.G uniform was torn around the arms, and its baby blue colour had faded into dirty navy. Her boots were torn and soleless, and the purple crystal hanging around her neck had cracks lining its edges.

She turned around again. Nothing was behind her - not even cars, people, or Noise. Of course there weren't. The moon was full, and at its peak in the sky, and even here she knew most people didn't tend to be out at whatever dark hour it was. Right? Or could it be that there weren’t any people? That there wasn’t anything?

Damn it. What was she even doing? Where was she trying to go? The Relic worked, right? Her steps slowed, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Hibiki Tachibana stopped running; took a deep, desperate breath, and looked around her.

If the billboards were anything to go off, she was still in Japan. Good. That meant that her position in space hadn't changed. Next, she scanned her surroundings. More carefully, this time. The buildings around her showed no sign of damage or decay, in contrast to the crumbled brick the girl was used to seeing. Some lights remained on, and dim music or snippets of conversations drifted from a few windows, but otherwise the city was silent, sleeping. There was no Noise, no shrill gunfire, no screams, blood, pain, falling, noise, hurting, saving, failure, noise, noise, Noise, endless-

Hibiki forced her thoughts to her breathing. Slowly, in and out. There wasn’t any time to think about what had happened. About that day. She took another breath, and let it go gently. She was here for a reason - in this alien, strange, peaceful world for a reason. She looked to the shell in her arms, and sighed as she set off again in the direction she assumed S.O.N.G would be.

This world’s Hibiki Tachibana needed to be ready.

* * *

Hibiki Tachibana shot up as soon as she realised that the alarm had been going off for at least the past ten minutes.

“Crap, Miku, we’re going to be late for training!” The orange-haired girl slammed the alarm off, and moved to leap out of the bed when a hand shot from beneath the duvet and stopped her.

“Hibiki, we don’t have training any more.” A voice mumbled in response. Miku didn’t open her eyes as her girlfriend laid back down, rapidly calming herself.

“Ohh, thank goodness.”

A second passed. And another.

Hibiki shot up again, “Crap, Miku, we’re going to be late for _school_!” This time, the smaller girl flipped forward too, and both of them collapsed onto the floor in a rushing pile at the same time.

“Hibiki! Let’s move!”

“I am moving!”

Two rushed showers; burnt toast slices; goodbye kisses, because they no longer shared classes for the first half of the day; and one “Tachibana!” from her teacher, and the rest of the day blurred in Hibiki's head, the concepts going in one ear and out the other. By the time her classes were over for the day, Hibiki had successfully retained no information.

Miku was waiting for her when she re-entered her dorm, and Hibiki moved to hug her before she realised that Chris Yukine was standing there too. Her roast red jacket and burning crimson shirt were standout, and Hibiki wondered why she hadn’t noticed immediately.

“Hu-” before Hibiki could react, Chris pulled her tightly into a hug of her own, and Hibiki returned it happily.

“I missed you, idiot.” The white-haired girl grinned in a way only Chris could, “Why haven’t you visited?”

Hibiki scratched her neck nervously, “It’s only been two weeks, and I’ve been swamped with schoolwork…”

“I can relate. Two weeks is like, forever though. You gotta check in so we know you’re still the same as ever!” Chris nodded, and Miku followed.

“Same as ever? What does that mean?”

“You know, like, ‘Hooooo!’” Chris shot a fist out and did an imitation of Hibiki which definitely didn’t sound like her, but still made her giggle.

“You mean how you’re like… ‘Haha, go to hell!’ all the time?” She shifted her voice into one that definitely did sound like Chris in between laughter, and pointed finger guns at the two to accentuate her point.

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

“Hibiki, you’re totally all like ‘I trust in blooming courage!’” Miku had joined in now, giving her own Hibiki impression that was even worse than Chris’.

“No I’m not! Miku, you’re like…” Hibiki began in between giggles, “‘In a flash, the world began,’”

“That’s not like me at all!” Miku protested.

“Nah, Miku’s definitely more like ‘Blowing lightly, putting my heart in a checkmate’!” Chris brought her hands to her chest and made a damsel-in-distress face, earning a shove from Miku.

“That’s even worse!” Miku blushed and buried her face into her hands.

“Victorious once again!” Chris announced, pumping her fist.

“Why are you here anyway, Chris?” Hibiki was still all laughs, but managed to choke out her question.

“Business from Genjuro. Someone broke into HQ, but apparently didn’t take anything.” Chris explained, “They stole someone’s pass, and that pass has been tracked into a warehouse a few blocks away.”

“The Illuminati remnants?” Hibiki wondered.

Chris shrugged, “Dunno yet, but if Genjuro thinks us two can handle it without Gears, it must not be anything big.”

Hibiki looked skeptically at Chris’ jacket pockets, at the hilt of the gun poking out of them. “So what are those?”

Chris pulled out the charcoal-black handgun from her left pocket, and flipped it before putting it back, “These babies are insurance. Doesn’t mean I’ll use them.”

“Ohh.” Hibiki checked her own school uniform’s pockets, but pulled out only a crumpled paper. She could just barely make out ‘Maths’ on it, so it went tossed into the vague pile of homework in the corner of her room. “So how are we getting there? Bike? Car? Truck?”

* * *

The walk was uneventful, and by the time they arrived at the warehouse, Hibiki wouldn’t stop complaining about how much her feet hurt. Miku moved to go in, but was immediately halted by Chris.

“They’ll be in there, so we should be ready for anything.” Chris drew one of her guns, and pointed it at the door, leaning against it stealthily.

“Is this really necessary? What if it’s just a thief?” Hibiki frowned.

“And what if it isn’t? We have to act like it’s the worst scenario, just in case it is.” Chris replied, but Miku was 99% sure that she was just getting really into it because it had been a while, and there was nothing Chris hated more than an extended absence of action.

The clearly over-excited girl began a countdown motion to enter, but was pushed away by the very door she was leaning on opening.

“I can hear all of you.” The voice - probably a girl’s from what Miku could hear - sounded from inside the warehouse.

“So are ya gonna come out?” Chris stepped slowly into the warehouse, and Hibiki followed before Miku did too. 

“Why should I? You’re coming in.” Miku turned to the source of the voice, and froze.

The girl wasn't Hibiki Tachibana. Miku knew that for a fact. Her hair was the same orange, and her eyes still matched in the cutest way, but this girl's face bore no resemblance to the girl Miku loved, because it had no smile.

A smile wasn't just a smile for Hibiki. Even when she was laughing, or frowning, her face always lit up with colours brighter than anything else. It was unmistakable; the smile which lit up Hibiki's face whenever she saw her friends, or failed a paper again, or half-woke up in Miku's arms. The hope - the smile - never left her.

Yet this girl's face was dull. Her eyes looked into only what was in front of them, and a thick scarf covered her mouth. Miku didn't need to look under the scarf to picture her deep frown, edged with monochrome and poisoned with non-emotion. This girl, who claimed to be Hibiki, hadn't had a smile in a long time. And anyone without hope could never be more than an imitation of the Hibiki she knew.

"Who are you?” Hibiki swiped around her neck, catching only empty space. Right, no Symphogears. The girl stared back at her before responding.

"Hibiki Tachibana. I thought that would be clear." The non-Hibiki spoke in monotone from beneath her cream scarf.

"Like hell you are." Chris pointed her handgun at the girl, "Why not stop the impostor game?"

"I don't have time for this. I have a job to do."

"And we don't have time for someone claiming to be Hibiki," Chris retorted, "I have homework, you know."

"You have homework?" Hibiki tilted her head, "Didn't school only just start?

Chris paused. "Well, yeah. But..."

"But?"

"... I had some left over from last summer."

Miku failed to hide a giggle of hers, "I thought Hibiki was the one behind on her work."

"Shut up!" Chris moved backwards in embarrassment, "I've been, uh, busy!"

"Busy doing what?"

"Stuff!"

"Are you finished?" The Hibiki-like girl cut in before either could supply a teasing punchline.

"Not until you tell us who you actually are!" Chris corrected her position and moved the gun to face the girl again.

"Allow me to show you, then." Something glinted on the Hibiki-ish girl's neck, and Miku recognised its shape instantly. She took the Symphogear and held it up, as her body floated upwards and her clothes dissolved, replaced with a blinding shine. The crystal split; one of its sides expanding into a plate of armour which latched itself into the girl's body, and another shifting into a gauntlet. The chestplate separated across her chest, the top half shining a light silver, and the bottom melting into a dark orange. The gauntlet wrapped around her left arm, and a screen briefly flickered on before being covered by a grey plate. The same was mirrored on her other arm, but with the armour continuing up her body, alternating black, orange and silver until it ended in a ring around her neck. A helmet which almost resembled a headset unsheathed itself, a spiked visor lowering itself onto the girl's eyes. Her legs were silver now, too, ending in white boots which kicked off the ground as soon as the transformation was complete.

Chris wasted no time firing, and bullets ricocheted off the armour rapidly before she lurched towards the grey-haired girl. Chris rolled as the Gungnir wielder crashed into the concrete where she would've been, and resumed fire without leaving the ground. Miku knew this wasn't right. Hibiki's Gungnir - or, for that matter, any Gungnir - had never looked like _that_. The visor was robotic, almost inhuman, and it reminded Miku badly of her own experience with the Symphogears.

"That's... a Faust Robe?" Hibiki was running at the Gungnir girl now, getting as close as possible without being in the way of Chris' bullets.

"Correct. They're more powerful than Symphogears." The girl didn't miss a beat while speaking, flipping around and grabbing Chris' gun. Two bullets fired into the armour around her hand, and then the gun was snatched out of Chris' hands and before she could react it was pieces on the ground. Hibiki kicked at the girl, only to be intercepted and pulled downward.

"Damn it!" Chris reached for another gun, but was met with Hibiki's body flying into her, knocking them both to the ground in a tangle.

"Stop it!" Each of the combatants turned to face Miku, "Do we really have to fight? Why don't you just explain what you want, whoever you are."

The girl glared at Miku, and for a moment she could see an indescribable yet painful emotion in them, before she looked away. "Hibiki Tachibana. But I suppose, not the one you know."

"That meaning..." Chris prompted her.

"I'm from a parallel world. One you could compare to your own, I assume."

"Hold on, a parallel world?" Chris lifted herself up, and stared accusingly at the other Hibiki, "We've never seen anything like that."

"The Treasury of Babel. A dimension of only Noise. It’s not like mine, of course, but it’s an example."

"So you're me from another world?" Hibiki asked, and the other Hibiki nodded.

"Two years ago, I went to a concert performed by the band Zwei Wing. I got my Gungnir there, at the cost of Kanade Amou. Does that sound about right?"

It was the first Hibiki's turn to nod, "Then, when did I start using it like... that?" She pointed to the Faust Robe on her alternate self, and she dispelled it, recreating her ragged outfit.

"From the beginning. I assumed that's where our paths would divide."

"Huh?"

The other Hibiki pointed at Miku, and she saw the same, sad expression in her again. "Your Miku Kohinata was there. She helped you, right? She encouraged you?"

Hibiki nodded again, "Your Miku... something happened to her?"

Miku didn't need to wait for the other Hibiki to speak again to know. There was only one thing that could turn her Hibiki into such a stranger.

"I went to the concert with Miku Kohinata. When the Noise attacked, and Kanade Amou sacrificed herself, I was the only survivor." Her voice stayed monotone, and yet Miku could swear it was hurting more than before. Her heart went dull, and she saw Hibiki stop dead as if hers did too. 

"Miku..." Hibiki stared at her other self, "That's..."

"There was no time, and..." The other Hibiki stared back, and then into nothing, "I couldn't save her. Miku Kohinata died."

* * *

Tsubasa was in the middle of a date when she was called into S.O.N.G. The call came earlier that day, but she was told that Chris and Hibiki could probably investigate the disturbance on their own, after Maria had insisted that their date was more important. Well, to say that it was the _middle_ of their date was wrong, they had already had the dinner and skipped to cuddling on the couch while a movie they would remember nothing of played in the background. But still, the urgent request was a disappointment to both of them, as their chance to take things further than cuddling was erased.

When they arrived at S.O.N.G, Kirika and Shirabe were there too, and Tsubasa immediately wondered what could be serious enough to interrupt them in the middle of their school day too. Without much talking, Tomosato led the group to a meeting room where Hibiki, Miku, Chris and Ogawa were already seated. Hibiki looked like she hadn't slept in weeks, and hadn't washed in those weeks either.

"You okay, Tachibana?" Maria asked worriedly.

"I'm all okay!" A more energetic voice came from the entrance, behind Tsubasa, and she turned around to see Hibiki approaching. Wait. That wasn't right. She turned again, and sure enough Hibiki was still sitting there, silent. But, Hibiki was standing behind her too, considerably more clean. But...

"Um, Tachibana, are you aware that there are two of you?" Tsubasa switched rapidly between the two Hibikis, and both of them hesitated before nodding.

"That's what we called all of you here to talk about." Genjuro entered behind the second Hibiki, and both took a seat. Tsubasa did the same, in between Chris and Maria and opposite Hibiki. One of them, at least. Shirabe was next to her, and she noticed her intently staring at the alternate Hibiki, with onomatopoeia to go with it. "Now that everyone's here, allow us to explain and recap. Earlier today, an unknown entity entered S.O.N.G, apparently with the identifying information of another agent. That agent was found unconscious on the harbour, so we asked Chris and Hibiki to investigate. Evidently, it was a Hibiki Tachibana of another universe."

"Another universe?!" Shirabe and Kirika squeaked in unison.

"Is that even possible?" Tsubasa turned to face the apparently alternate Hibiki opposite her. She looked exactly like Hibiki, besides the poor condition of herself that Tsubasa had already taken note of. Except... she didn't. Tsubasa noticed something strange about her expression. It didn't have the same energy that Hibiki carried everywhere.

"Is that like the Treasury of Babel? A whole other space, different to ours." Maria observed, and Chris humph-ed for some reason.

"Practically, the Treasury is another world. Though mine is different in quite a few ways."

"Does it have aliens?!" Shirabe chirped.

"Does it have dinosaurs?!" Kirika chorused.

"Mad scientists?!"

"Androids?!"

"Hoverboards?!"

"What about mythical creatures?!"

"Like the Grim Reaper?!"

"Or dragons?!"

"Is Shirabe there?!"

"Is Kirika there?!"

"To answer at least one of your questions," the other Hibiki began, silencing the duo, "Doctor Ver was there - if you can count him as a mad scientist - and so were you two."

Genjuro started, "This Hibiki's timeline is very similar to ours. As far as she says, it's identical to what has happened to us until the Frontier Incident, with one exception."

"Exception?" Tsubasa inquired. Another universe was already intriguing enough, but a universe replicating the exact actions of almost everything would be astonishing. Maybe there was a universe where Kanade...

"During the Zwei Wing concert a number of years prior, my version of Miku Kohinata died. As far as I can tell," Hibiki gestured to the very-alive Miku sitting next to her, "in this world she didn't. I also used the Gungnir as a Faust Robe shortly after I gained it, which this Hibiki tells me has never been done with any of your Gears."

"Is that possible?" Genjuro asked the question this time, "In our experience involving Carol Malus Dienheim, the Bavarian Illuminati and Shem-Ha, a full Relic was needed to create a Faust Robe."

"The power is nothing compared to anything involving a complete Relic. It eclipses a Symphogear, but doesn't go much farther than that."

"Then perhaps we can-"

"I didn't come here to exchange trade secrets." The other Hibiki's voice was tinged with a sudden aggressiveness. "The only reason I made the jump across dimensions was because of what's happening in mine." Genjuro stayed silent. Tsubasa watched her warily. "The concert was not the only difference in my world, clearly. Shortly after what you call the Frontier Incident, an iteration of the immortal priestess Finé reawakened and slaughtered S.O.N.G." Everything fell silent. The excitement previously bursting within Kirika and Shirabe faded into disbelief, staring at the other Hibiki with the same, dulled faces as everyone else.

"But... you said we were there." Kirika mumbled.

"Were. Everyone's gone, now. S.O.N.G and Lydian still exist, barely, and I was able to hide out there and retrieve this." She pulled out a small, stone shell which immediately doubled in size and clattered onto the table loudly. It had an intricate spiral pattern across it, and its centre shone gently. It was definitely a Relic, but there was no excitement surrounding it as there normally would be; the news of the other world was still far too fresh in everyone's minds. "This is the Gjallarhorn. It allows travel through dimensions, and it's how I got here."

"I assume you want us to return with you and kill Finé." Maria guessed, "I may not have fought her directly but I have some… history with her nonetheless.”

"Of course not." The other Hibiki shot a dark side eye at Maria, "The Gjallarhorn only reacts to chants. I haven't tested it myself, but the archives state that different chants lead to different worlds. I got here when I was about to be killed, and now I can't get back without someone else. I want you to send me back, so I can destroy the Gjallarhorn."

"Destroy it?" Hibiki's eyes widened, "Why? Couldn't we use it to-"

"Anyone can use it. Including Finé. I can't risk her extending her power to worlds other than my own."

"We can totally take her. We gave that piece of trash what she deserved before, we can do it again." Chris assured her, but Maria shook her head.

"That Hibiki may be unfortunately correct. The Finé there killed all of us, after all. It stands to reason that she's much stronger than the Finé you three fought."

"The Finé we-, I mean, my Tsubasa and Chris and I killed with Durandal is nothing compared to what she is now. You could try to fight her, but it would just end worse." Hibiki responded.

"Then what about you? We can't just leave you to fight her on your own." Tsubasa interjected.

"You can, and you will. I have no doubts I'll die, but the fact that Finé was stopped in one world at least is good enough. If she gets the Gjallarhorn, we'll be condemning this world and many others to nothing but hell."

"You're not the boss of us," Chris snapped, "and we aren't gonna let you sacrifice yourself for no reason!"

"I agree. If we're going to assist you with returning, we have to contribute somehow." Genjuro nodded.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course, you can leave without our help if you want. However, if you want the Relic to activate, you'll have to do it on our terms."

The others around the table nodded, and Tsubasa did too, receiving a glare from the other Hibiki in return. The girl said nothing for a moment, before letting out a long sigh.

"And your terms are?"

* * *

Hibiki slept surprisingly well that night. The existence of her alternate self - the death of the alternate Miku - and Finé's reign played on her mind, but Miku's warmth helped her fall asleep almost as soon as she laid down. Still, it was a lot to take in, and Hibiki was still thinking about it while riding to S.O.N.G once again the following morning. Genjuro had decided that action had to be immediate, and the alternate Hibiki wanted Hibki - herself - to attempt first. 

Miku nuzzled against Hibiki's shoulder as she accelerated. She'd been taking lessons on how to ride a motorcycle from Tsubasa, and while she was still in the early stages of learning, the sensation of the wind fast on her face was unbeatable. Plus, Miku always held onto her tightly when she rode with her, which was a definite bonus. "Aren't you worried, Hibiki?" Miku mumbled to her.

"Huh? Why would I?"

"You don't know what kind of world you'll end up in, right? What if it's somewhere that kills you?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. A-Hibiki came from a world just like ours, right?"

"A Hibiki?"

"A-Hibiki, short for alternate Hibiki. I thought I'd call her that to differentiate from, well, me."

"Who knew my girlfriend was so smart?"

Hibiki may or may not have blushed slightly under the helmet, "I have my moments often."

"Didn't you ask me what colour the Pink Panther was last week?"

"You were praising me a second ago!"

Miku giggled, "It's pink, by the way."

"I knew that!" The giggling was contagious, and Hibiki started too. She couldn't stand being without Miku, even for a day, so she couldn't begin to imagine how her alternate self felt. Thinking about it made her hurt, too.

They arrived at the ship, and Hibiki unsuccessfully attempted to park, nearly crashing the motorcycle before she attempted the brakes again, thankfully stopping it safely. She really needed to continue those lessons. They disembarked, and before Hibiki knew it, they were in the main room of S.O.N.G. Elfnein was busy with something at the computer while Tomosato and Fujitaka were engrossed in some work involving papers, and Ogawa was facing them, waiting with A-Hibiki next to him.

"Glad to see you arrived fine. We're going to attempt the activation in a contained room, in case anything goes wrong. It'll be kept on the other side of bulletproof glass, where Hibiki - uh, the other world Hibiki - will be, and you'll sing your chant into a microphone." Ogawa explained.

"I doubt your chant will do anything, given that it's the same as mine, but if that's the case I've already contacted Tsubasa Kazanari to try next. If we end up in the wrong dimension, I can easily return to this world." A-Hibiki added, "If possible, can your girlfriend stay outside? I asked for you, specifically."

A-Hibiki looked in Miku's direction, but Hibiki noticed that she wasn't looking at her at all. Miku gave Hibiki a brief kiss on the cheek, "Make sure you come back soon."

"If we succeed - doubtful - Shinji Ogawa will inform you." A-Hibiki responded swiftly.

"And besides, It'll be just fine!" Hibiki gave a double thumbs up as hard as she could, as A-Hibiki began to walk with Ogawa to the room. Miku's beaming face was the last Hibiki saw before the door closed behind them.

The room was exactly as described - white panelled with a glass wall in the centre, control panel and microphone on one side and a pedestal with the Gjallarhorn and speaker on the other. A-Hibiki entered, and Hibiki heard a soft hiss as the door in the glass locked. It was crazy, sort of. So much had happened - her alternate self, and alternate worlds, and she was going to say goodbye to all of that already. The possibilities briefly flickered in her mind - what kind of other worlds were out there? If there was one where Miku hadn’t… made it, were there worlds where her other friends didn’t either? Was there a world where it was Hibiki? Did that mean Miku inherited Gungnir, or did that world lack one? Or was it given to someone else entirely?

Hibiki's thoughts moved to Kanade and Serena. What if they weren't supposed to die? What if Hibiki was just in a world where they did? In another world, was it prevented, and was it supposed to happen in the first place? A voice brought her out of her train of thought just as it threatened to overwhelm her, and she realised that everything was set up. They were waiting for her.

She walked forward to the microphone, "I just sing my chant into this?" A-Hibiki slammed her hands over her ears, and although Hibiki couldn't hear anything beyond the glass, she guessed she'd been too loud, "Sorry." She apologised in a softer voice.

Hibiki took a breath. She hadn't sung the chant, or even thought much about it, in the months since the Yggdrasil Incident. She'd had no need to, since the Symphogears and Faust Robes had been vaporised by the recoil of their group Superb Song, as well as Shem-Ha's own attacks, and since the song came to her naturally while wearing the Symphogear, she didn't sing it much outside of transforming anyway. She quickly recited the words (what language were they in, anyway?) and leaned into the microphone.

" _Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron._ " It felt almost nostalgic, saying those words again. But after a few seconds had passed, neither A-Hibiki nor the Gjallarhorn had any visible reaction. Ogawa tapped something on the control panel, and a hiss came from the door, signalling its unlocking.

"No reaction." A-Hibiki's voice was slightly muffled, but it was at least audible.

"Could it be that the chant's processed through the speaker, so it doesn't have the same effects?" Ogawa questioned, calm as ever.

"Maybe, but there's the chance it just didn't have an effect. Your chant is the same as mine." A-Hibiki stared at the Gjallarhorn, still studying it for a possible delayed reaction. It stayed the same dull, stone shell it had been when Hibiki had first seen it.

"Should we try inside the glass?"

"That would defeat the entire point of this place. Distance, to make sure she doesn't come too. It would be moot if she did."

"Still, if it's what you think, the Gjallarhorn wouldn't have an effect anyway." Ogawa suggested, and Hibiki nodded. 

A-Hibiki thought for a moment, and then sighed, "Fine."

Hibiki pushed on the glass, and it opened easily, hissing again as it closed behind her. Up close, she realised that the Gjallarhorn wasn't just a stone shell as she had previously assumed. The centre was entirely silver, and its patterns were rigid and rough - imitating a curve, but not quite being one. It looked almost man-made, but the rough way the silver cut into the stone of the rest of the shell and the otherworldly glow that Hibiki could swear surrounded it betrayed it. Her chant came easier this time, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed the glow becoming stronger. Both Hibikis stepped back, and motioned to Ogawa.

"I'm unlocking the room. Hibiki, uh, our Hibiki, get out of there." His voice came over the loudspeaker just as a hiss sounded from the glass door again, and Hibiki pulled it open. The blue light emanating from the Gjallarhorn was covering half the room, now, and A-Hibiki had retreated to the corner of the other half. "I'm going to inform the others." Ogawa opened the door with visible panic - and although everything was going as A-Hibiki had said it would so far, Hibiki couldn't blame him.

"Hibiki." Her own voice warned from behind the glass. The blue had expanded across half the room, covering all of A-Hibiki's side like a giant bath. And just like an overflowing bath, it began to leak outwards. "Apparently, its effect can phase through surfaces."

"Couldn't you have said before?" Hibiki pulled at the door, still looking at her consumed - yet not disappeared - counterpart.

"I didn't know!" She snapped, "Last time I activated it, it surrounded me with the aura and then I was in your world. All I knew was that it's not immediate - like how I haven't been transported yet now." 

The door came loose just as another pushed on it from the other side, tripped backwards and her hand slipped into the aura, only for the rest of her arm to be overtaken by it too, as Maria Cadenzavna Eve came through.

"Why are you here?!" A-Hibiki hissed.

"I got a text to come, and I saw Ogawa all panicked, so I assumed something had happened." Maria explained. But wasn't the text for Tsubasa?

"Maria, please get back!" Hibiki was almost entirely in the aura now, and she was sure it was expanding faster now. Her voice seemed to echo around the light.

"I-" Hibiki saw Maria's high-heel enter the glow, and suddenly everything shifted. Hibiki was filled with a sudden, powerful nausea and she flung her hands out to try and steady herself. Instead of the cool metal of the containment room they were in, her hands grasped onto warm concrete, and as she stood up shakily, Hibiki realised with a start that the glow had faded, and her surroundings were completely different.

They were in the middle of the road now - Maria standing in shock, A-Hibiki grasping the Gjallarhorn and cursing, and Hibiki nursing her head as she looked around. Buildings stretched into the distance in every direction, but something about the place was familiar. 

"We're going back. _She_ shouldn't be here." A-Hibiki pointed at Maria with one hand, and tapped the Gjallarhorn with the other.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be. I assumed you wanted me with the Gjallarhorn as soon as I could make it." Maria apologised.

"Why did you get the text though, Maria?" Hibiki scratched her chin more because it hurt than because she was confused, "Ogawa said it was for Tsubasa."

"I... don't know." Maria reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a phone. She was wearing a plain pink top with one of her usual thick white-magenta coats over it, with slim blue jeans. It looked good on her. She stared at the phone for a second, and then frowned. "Uh. It seems that this might be... Tsubasa's phone..."

A-Hibiki let out one of her loudest sighs yet, "How did Tsubasa's phone get into your own jeans?"

Maria went a pink deep enough to match her outfit, "Because... I didn't notice, but these..."

Hibiki came to Maria's rescue, "Does it matter? Maria’s here now, whether or not she was meant to be."

A-Hibiki gave a suspicious look to both of them, "That’s the issue. She shouldn't be, and nor should you." She continued tapping the Gjallarhorn, and sighed, "It's not working. Great." Hibiki looked at the Relic, and sure enough the glow had gone entirely - even the small, soft light that emanated from it even when it wasn't activated. “It did this for a few hours when I first arrived, but I didn’t think much of it.”

“A cooldown?” Maria asked.

“Obviously. It’ll be a while before we can get back.” A-Hibiki sighed again. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

That’s when it hit her. Hibiki looked over the buildings from before, and realised where she was - those exact same buildings stretched out from the view of S.O.N.G HQ. She turned around, and sure enough the sea was only a few meters behind the girls. They were where S.O.N.G would be, but... they weren't. They weren't even in Japan, or Earth. Not the ones Hibiki knew, anyway. 

The nausea suddenly rushed back, and Hibiki doubled over as the non-Japan melted into blurs around her. It was a whole new, unfamiliar world, and she was further away from what she knew than anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Massive thanks to Kotobird for proof-reading this, and massive thanks to everyone who's supported this!
> 
> The next chapter may not be for a bit, as I'm not that far through it and I don't have a set schedule for these, but please stay tuned if you enjoyed this one.


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